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Sunday, 28 July 2013

Oh the delight of finding a dish you want to tell the whole world about, I did just that after I visited No. 4 Blake Street for the first time!

It was a chilly yet beautiful Saturday morning and heading to the cafe (formerly known as Blake's) was a bit of a gamble, you see I like to hunt the internet for a menu before I arrive - shameful I know. I mean, why can't I just wait for the surprise? Well, I am a vegetarian, so it's in my nature to check thoroughly before I venture out to somewhere new and it's also probably because I like to always know things right away, patience is not a virtue I am equipped with unfortunately.

Arriving at the cafe it looked packed without being crowded and definitely enough room for us and even a few more. The waiter asked whether we wanted to be seated inside or out. Although is was chilly, outside was a lot quiter and more relaxing, I find that everywhere I go so we opted for the latter.

Inside the collection of baked treats was well received. I loved how they positioned the table in the middle of the cafe, it gives everyone a chance to really have a look, plus, let's be honest - it looks adorable and the lemon and lavender cupcakes with little butterfly wings looked delectable!

The cafe looks posh, very posh, but there was nothing stuck up about the way we were treated. I'm not really a fan of anyone or any place that acts pretentious. I was still a bit sleepy and although I wasn't hungover, I must have looked it when the waiter asked if I wanted a gin and tonic instead of a coffee! The fun and friendly relaxed nature made me instantly warm to the place, on top of this, the service was just simply impeccable. These are some well trained waiters/waitresses!

I did of course go for a soy hot chocolate. It was creamy and delicious but definitely could have been hotter, I also had a strong dislike for how small it was. There's something about those little glasses that cafes constantly use that I dislike immensely, I could gulp it in one! D ordered a soy flat white and although it was tasty, once again could have been hotter.

Most of the time when I head out for breakfast, I opt for eggs, I think it's the fact that during the week I make sure I have a decent yet healthy breakfast and eggs are always a weekend treat. This menu changed my mind. As much as I desperately wanted to try the poached eggs, I couldn't say no to the porridge and boy was that the best breakfast decision I've ever made! I honestly can't even explain the heaven in my mouth...you need to go try it for yourself! It was creamy but the oats still had that tiny bit of bite and whoever thought of adding pistachios on top of porridge is a genius! Not forgetting the strawberries that were slightly cooked down into a compote.

D went with his favourite poached eggs a side of beans and a potato cake (he was really looking to order a hashbrown of course). The beans were delicious and the eggs so perfectly cooked, it was impressive and the potato cake was 'pretty good'.

I would advise you to check it out for breakfast or any other time of the day as I think they will really deliver. Here's the menu, have a mouth watering look for yourself!

Sunday, 21 April 2013

I was lucky enough to be sent a big box of Belvita Breakfast Biscuits in their new cranberry flavour. So I think it's the perfect post to change it up without reviewing a cafe. Of course if I had the luxury to go out to breakfast every morning, I would, but who does? So on a normal weekdays sometimes we all need a quicker option like biscuits on the go.

Upon opening the box the six individually wrapped packets of biscuits
give off a distinct sugary cranberry smell that was definitely
appealing.The biscuits themselves are thinner than they appear in the picture, with four in each packet. The size on the front is practically to scale though. Overall I would prefer two thicker ones as I found they crumbled a little bit and snapped really easily. Seeing as these are great for eating on the run, you're bound to get some crumbs in your car or on your lap.

The cranberry smell is continuous the whole time, eating biscuit after biscuit, but as it's the showcase of the breakfast snack, I expected more. I absolutely love something with dried fruit where it breaks up the textures with a tasty, small amount of chewy goodness - that's what these lacked. It's as though the cranberry pieces are chopped too small and are sparse.

For breakfast this flavour may be a little too sweet for me personally, but loads of people have a sweet tooth and that would satisfy them, they have 9.6g sugar per serving, about the same as a muesli bar but contain 22g of wholegrains which is great.

The really good thing about them?
1. You can slip a packet in your handbag (or pocket, men!) easily without taking up space
2.They fill you up. These little biscuits satisfy you enough to start the morning (after a cup of tea of course)
3. They state they are suitable for vegetarians

Most people don't have the luxury of sitting down to eat breakfast every morning and end up completely skipping it, which we all know is a real no-no. I'm lucky enough to be able to have something to eat at my desk at work, but a lot of people wouldn't, especially working outdoors. This is where belvita breakfast biscuits shine. I feel these are great to have in your cupboard just in case you're rushing out and are good for you with five different wholegrains, low in GI, rich in cereals and are a source of fibre.

I'm interested to try their five different flavours; Honey & Nut with choc chip, Milk & Cereals, Crunchy Oats, and
Fruit & Fibre. I really have enjoyed having a box of these when I am running late some
days, I'd suggest you try them out - especially busy mums!

Monday, 8 April 2013

A breakfast date is always the best way to start a Sunday, even if you've had no sleep! I was so excited to see my good friend Clare and it's a tradition of ours to always meet up for breakfast.

Hunting around for something new, I stumbled upon Source Foods in Highgate. As a vegetarian finding a cafe that is sustainable, vegan friendly and sources fresh local, organic, free range produce is pure heaven! It's also somewhere that I want to support and want everyone else to as well!

Lucky for me their food was a delight on top of all the great things they do and there's also loads of gluten free options.

I ordered the Spinach Feta Scramble ($17) and a berry smoothie ($6.50). The eggs were light and fluffy with a good amount of feta that didn't make them too salty, just right and added that little something extra. I'm a huge spinach fan, cooked, uncooked, english or baby and I loved how it was slightly cooked and put on top rather than mixed through the eggs, it had a good irony taste which I definitely enjoy. All this comes with two pieces of toast and left me well and truly satisfied especially once I devoured my smoothie.

The staff were super lovely and even though they did accidentally bring out a chocolate smoothie (which looked great but not what I had in mind with my breakfast), they returned with my berry one as soon as it was made and it was certainly worth the wait.

Clare ordered the regular scrambled eggs ($12.50), which looked just as tasty and a big serve along with a vanilla smoothie which she said was so yummy.

We both adored how they served them in jars with a straw, it looked really cute and suited the cafe. It was really easy to get a seat, we got there at 9.30am and it didn't get too busy, most of the seats were taken by the time we were eating but it isn't a cafe where they squash in a million tables and chairs to get more customers, something that gets a big tick from me!

Check out their website or just pop in because I know you won't regret it! I think I may just try out their wraps for lunch one day and I know I'll be back for breakfast again soon.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Hidden down a small street in Fremantle, off the main drag, in a place of wooden architecture, lies The Attic. Unfortunately, heading to Freo for breakfast is few and far between when you live so north of the river, so D and I made the most of a day out down there, starting with something delectiable.

When you walk into The Attic, you automatically feel the chilled vibe and great ambiance. We were hungry so looked through the menu and ordered at the till prior to finding a cosy spot to sit . As we walked up the stairs we were delighted to find a corner table with comfy couches and a decent size coffee table so we could eat in comfort. The little window above us, looking outside was just gorgeous!

The design of The Attic is just adorable, vintage yet not trying to hard and you just feel comfortable. The addition of a hanging vintage suitcases in the middle of the ceiling was adorable and looked intracate and amazing.

D & I both ordered the scrambled eggs and it was incredible to see how perfect they were. The eggs were the creamiest and fluffiest, I believe, I have ever tasted, and a big enough serving that wasn't too over the top, but not going to keep your stomach grumbling. The addition of fresh rocket to any meal, for me, just takes a dish to a-whole-nother level. The crispy, peppery flavour combined with creamy scrambled eggs and crunchy delectiable rye toast is out of this world!

As we were heading off to spend our day in Fremantle, I had to double back and buy a strawberry and white chocolate muffin from the counter. It was absolutely heavenly! Rustic and delicious with every single mouthful. Everyone needs to stop by here at least once - and if you live close by, you have absolutely no excuse!

Thursday, 20 September 2012

After seeing its ratings on Urbanspoon and being told by many how great the breakfasts were, D & I ventured to Cafe Elixir one Saturday. Just to note, Elixir serves an ALL DAY BREAKFAST.

Boy was I dissapointed. I may usually start off with some positives of a cafe and finalise with pointing out what I didn't like or what I would have prefered but this, this was a nightmare.

After walking in we were told it was a 10-15 minute wait for a table, no problems as we didn't have a booking. We sat on the side and waited patiently (no one else was waiting), we see a table free up and with no help from the waitress we sit down there anyway as people were coming in and we didn't want it taken. After waiting a short while we made our orders and were told it was going to be at least 15 minutes until our drinks would come out and a further 30 minutes until the food comes out.

After waiting around an hour, a ridiculous amount of time for our meals (even to the point we asked the waitress where they were), I was excited to dig in and fill up my now growling stomach. The complaint from D came first, but it was yet to be the final of the morning.

His poached eggs on toast were so undercooked they disappeared the moment a knife slightly touched them, into his already very thin bread and became a yolk/white spread, none of which was tasty and most certainly could not fill you up.

As I cut into my eggs, I instantly realised I was to be disappointed too. No, both of my eggs were not undercooked, only one was and the other was so overcooked it was completely hard and not tasty at all.

I looked around to notice other reactions from patrons, I wasn't
surprised, one man sitting near us picked up his piece of bacon (which
looked extremely undercooked) and threw it on his plate shaking his
head, seems we weren't the only ones with terrible food and service.

Just when I think it couldn't get any worse I find a massive chunk of eggshell in my breakfast. How this even happens nowadays, I have no idea. The lack of care about the meals was so obvious, the thing that bugs me about some cafes is how they cram in as many people as they can to make money, but that's when the service and food falls well below par. We informed the waitress when she collected our plates and said she would speak to the owner when we come up to pay.

The one positive thing about my breakfast, the beans. These homemade beans were cooked so well and with the perfect amount of spices that it wasn't overpowering for breakfast but not quite too subtle either. A great combination. The hashbrowns were nice but broke away the moment you touched them.

As we went up to pay the owner asked "why didn't we send the meals back?" I politely replied that we had been waiting so long for our food we weren't going to send it back to wait even longer. He basically said "you know you wouldn't have to wait so long if you sent something back," in a completely rude tone but ended up charging us only $20 in total, which was decent of him, but expected also. Just a note, being cocky and rude is not a way to win back customers who have had a terrible experience at your cafe.

On a side note, due to working very close to this cafe now, I recently went for a takeaway soy chai latte. It was so disgusting I threw it out halfway through. Just to let everyone know, I would never usually do this. I usually get the most for my money, but this latte was undrinkable. It was lumpy the entire way through with chai latte powder because someone was obviously too lazy to mix it properly. Plus the cups are ridiculously small for the price they charge.

I won't ever go back to Elixir, but I'd like to know your thoughts if you've been, comment below!

Thursday, 23 August 2012

Of course a Sunday morning rolls around (a few weeks ago now) and we decide to try to go to Voyage... again, with no such luck, again... It was so packed and nearly 11ish (it was going to be a 15 minute wait) so we decided to head off to the new Wild Fig Cafe in Scarborough. Once we got there, we were faced with the same issue... 15 minute wait and by then, breakfast was going to be over. Hungry and cranky I started frantically searching for another cafe to go to, super focused because D & I were starving and found one just up Brighton Road called Kinky Lizard. I decided to give them a call and see what time breakfast stopped serving as there was no point just rocking up after 11... Luckily for us - it's ALL DAY BREAKFAST on the weekends! Pretty sure the guy laughed at me when I squealed in excitement and told him we would be there soon. Oh well, better to be excited right?!

This place is an absolute suburban hidden treasure and I can't believe I didn't discover it until now. I had the vego breakfast, a big brekkie filled with sourdough toast, truss tomatoes, mushroom, avocado, spinach and poached eggs. It was incredible. The food was all cooked perfectly and the freshness of the produce and ingredients was beyond what I had expected! Each aspect complemented the other well and it was extremely satisfying.

It took a bit of convincing, but D decided to go try a sweet breakfast instead of the usual savoury. Sometimes there is that moment where a plate of food is served in front of you and it doesn't just look like the tastiest concoction you've ever imagined, but it actually looks like a work of art too. D's ricotta hotcakes were just that. Perfectly fluffy, a perfect size, with delicate poached pears, doused in berry coulis and coconut marscarpone sitting on top.

This is perfection on a plate even to those who don't have a sweet tooth.

We also orderded a green tea and a soy mocha, both went down and absolute treat and we didn't have to wait too long for them to come out. They have an awesome selection of goodies at the front counter too and an espresso bar in East Perth so check out their website!

I half really want everyone to go here to check out how incredible the food is, but the other half of me wants to keep this as Scarborough's secret treasure...

I would love for you guys to follow my blog and comment if you go to any of the places! :)

Monday, 6 August 2012

It was an exciting moment when I heard Sayer's owners Mark & Steph were opening another cafe by the name of Sayers Sisters in Northbridge. Sayers has always been one of my favourite spots to breakfast/brunch at, so of course I had to head there the week it opened! I knew Saturday would be busy but headed in anyway, meeting my best friend Ash to try out this new little spot!

When I arrived the line was (as expected) out the door, but after
only five or ten minutes we were seated outside and reading the
delicious menu! As a walk up and pay before your meal kind of cafe, I
would expect you could pay separately, considering one of us had to stay
at the table to secure it. I've never been told we couldn't pay
separately at Sayers in Leederville but alas the new cafe has a no
separate billing rule. That was interesting and a bit confusing,
however, they decided "just this one time" we could order that way which
was much easier!

Heading in to order gave me an opportunity to admire the beautiful decor. Inside is set up with spots to sit along the side walls and a communal bench with high chairs in the middle, covered in lovely fresh flowers and hanging lights. There's also a little front outside area where we sat with some little outside tables and chairs. The cashier area is lined with tea pots and teas and baked goods you can purchase - very tempting!

Our drinks came out a little bit later, Ash ordering a coffee and me a pot of green tea. Both were disappointing. I'm not sure if they were just sitting there for ages, or if something is wrong with their hot water but they were both completely luke warm and really unenjoyable.

The meals took a long time to come out, but it wasn't really a big deal as we had a lot to catch up on, if you weren't in a lazy day frame of mind however, it probably was a bit too long. We did end up asking when our breakfast would be out, considering 45 minutes had passed but were assured they were the next order.

I ordered the poached eggs ($11) which came out perfectly cooked, delicate and delicious and after feeling like something fresh, ordered a side rocket & parmasen salad ($3) to go along with it. As much as I love this combination, it was almost ruined with far too much lemon. I am an absolute lover of lemon, lime and all things sour, but this was even a bit much for me! Lucky the eggs and toast were perfection...

Ash's cinnamon and vanilla porridge with kumquat marmalade ($13.50) was insanely tasty (of course she let have a taste!) it was creamy and sweet and just the right amount. In true Sayers style it was presented in the cutest possible way. A little pot and a mini milk bottle - if you like extra milk on your porridge! Along with some honey on the side.

I would definitely head back to try again and suggest you try it out for yourselves, I would love to hear some comments on your experiences there, so write them below!

P.s. there's no menu on the normal Sayers website, or on their Facebook but someone has uploaded one to urbanspoon so check it out there!